Tea and cakes on the menu for health market at finish line

Tea and cake isn’t usually what springs to mind at the finish line of a fun run, but a Christchurch market is promising just that.

With training guides recommending a healthy diet ahead of a big race, it seems strange hotdogs and chips usually dominate over health food stalls when the run is over.

So at the annual 10-kilometre Run to Remember, organisers hope to encourage participants to make healthier choices, opting to swap fizzy drinks and nachos for kombucha and home-made bakery treats at the Hansen Park market on February 24.

The event, where runners and walkers of all ages and abilities follow a course along the Port Hills from Victoria to Hansen Park, will shoelace around Bowenvale and Mount Vernon parks and feature views over Christchurch, across the Canterbury Plains to the Southern Alps.

Organisers have worked with Healthy Families Christchurch to turn the remembrance run into an example of ‘‘smarter event practices’’, Sport Canterbury chief executive Julyan Falloon said.

Heathcote-based kombucha and cold pressed juice company Born and Raised will sell its twice-fermented tea beverage alongside treats from Angie’s German Baking, selling healthier versions of traditional European cakes and cookies.

Baker Angelika Limmer said she bakes all her goods from home using no machinery except an oven. Everything will be prepared from scratch, with no preservatives.

Traditional German desserts such as apple and lemon cakes will be joined by some ‘‘very Kiwi baking’’, such as ginger crunch and Anzac biscuits, and her own recipes including carrot and apple cupcakes topped with icing or chopped walnuts. Each contains around three grams of sugar, less than a third than in a can of fizzy drink. She also makes vegan, dairy and glutenfree baking.

‘‘A balanced diet is a cake in both hands, which means those cakes need to be healthy. I drastically reduce sugar and fat in the recipes without compromising the taste’’, she said.

Other vendors at the market include Stripped Jerky, Aunty Bees beeswax wraps, It All Makes Scents bath bombs and fragrances, Folium Friend succulents and OOMPH! Vegan Eats. Participants can continue from the Hansen Park offerings onto the Opawa Farmers’ Market next door.

Falloon said the aspect of fun is important ‘‘but the goal is wellbeing’’.

‘‘We know that events provide a vehicle for people to enjoy new experiences and try new things. What if we could use events as a vehicle for doing things better?’’

Any like-minded local producers and foodies wanting to join in on the day should contact sport@sportcanterbury.org.nz to reserve a space. Registrations for the Run to Remember are open. Adult entry is $18, ages 5 to 16 is $13 and under-5s are free.